Senior Zack Wilson and junior Billy Feldman took the top prizes in this year’s Cellflix competition.
Wilson, a television radio and video production major, was one of 11 semi-finalists selected by judges Melissa Gattine, special programs and public relations coordinator of the Roy H. Park School of Communications; Peter Johanns, assistant professor of television and radio; and Jason Livingston, assistant professor of cinema, photography and media arts.
Rod Perry, CEO and creative director of The Ant Farm, and Russell Harnden III ’90, senior editor, Toy Box Entertainment, selected Wilson as the final winner. Wilson’s film, titled “Assisted Living,” is based on an elderly patient in a nursing home and her interactions with her young nurse.
Feldman, a film, photography and visual arts major, won the Texas Instruments Audience Award for his film, “Shellfish,” a romantic comedy based on a comic strip. The entry earned an overall rating of 3.28 out of 4.0 based on votes on the festival’s Web site.
Cellflix is the first student cell phone festival in the country, introduced to Ithaca College and high school and college students across the country three years ago by Dianne Lynch, dean of the Roy H. Park School of Communications. The festival is based on 30-second film entries shot on cell phones.
Gattine said though the 99 entries in this year’s competition is lower than last year’s 178, it is still impressive.
“Three years ago no one would believe that someone could be doing a cell phone film,” Gattine said. “Those learning experiences are definitely what [the Park School is] after,” she said.
